The North Port Bobcats struggled with assists on Thursday (the Parrish Community Bulls had eight more) and sadly the final score reflected it. North Port took a hard 55-38 fall against Parrish Community. While losing is never fun, North Port can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Florida basketball rankings (they are ranked 323rd, while Parrish Community is ranked 84th).
Despite the loss, North Port saw an underclassman step up: Rhiley Richards scored 12 points along with eight rebounds and five steals. The team also got some help courtesy of Mya Van Salisbury, who scored four points along with seven rebounds and three steals.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Parrish Community to victory, but perhaps none more so than Mary Portwood, who dropped a double-double on 17 points and 14 rebounds. Another player making a difference was Sarah Decker, who dropped a double-double on 15 points and 16 rebounds.
This is the second loss in a row for North Port and nudges their season record down to 8-13. As for Parrish Community, they have been performing well recently as they've won five of their last six contests, which provided a nice bump to their 15-6 record this season.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. North Port won't have much time to rest: their next contest is against Bishop Verot at 7:00 p.m. on January 26th. Bishop Verot is strutting with some offensive muscle, as they've averaged 51.2 points per game. As for Parrish Community, they will be playing at home against Academy of the Holy Names at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Academy of the Holy Names has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 239 points over their last four matchups.
